Wednesday, April 30, 2014

In 1848, Elizabeth and Augusta Radford in Middlebury CT receive a letter from their cousin Louise Pauline Radford in Morrisville NY. It was written on one large piece of paper, folded, addressed and mailed. It contains wonderful clues of the life of a woman in the 1840s in rural USA. She might be busy with housework, but her mind was very busy!

She starts with pleasantries, updates on the family, complaints about the loneliness with few neighbors, busyness of household chores and sewing, and coping with the solitude of life by reading novels.

Morrisville May 31, /46Dear Cousins Elisabeth and AugustaI shall attempt no excusesfor not before acknowledging the receipt of your verywelcome letter, for I think it a silly thing to renderexcuses for that which is inexcusable.It is now quite two months since you and CousinAugusta found me, and with my usual ingratitudeI am delayed to render the simple recompense whichthe Etiquitte of Epistolary Correspondence demands andwhich dear Cousin Lizzie, I now put before you at the Eleventhhours. ——-of our health (always the first consideration you knowI can render a favorable account. Mother is much improvedFather comfortable. Brother Emory came from the west last Marchand is with us. Sister Sarah works in the Factory near usand your humble Lieut., installed housekeeper in Earnest.—I am very lonely in this novel business. We are not blestwith near neighbors and all with whom I once associatedare married or removed; but I have been so very busy latelywith my daily cares and sewing which I take in, that mysolitude is to me worse than solitary idleness. So, to makeamends for not getting time for recreation during the dayI steal from Morpheus and have read the Waverly Novelsthrough in this stolen time, which business my anti-novel-reading cousin will probably think is about right to be con-nected with thieves etc Lest you may think me a reader of NomondesI must say that I renounced them six years since (at which timeI had read all in the vicinity) but have taken them up occasionallyat least as often as P.P. R. James’ fell into my hands. and now for the

She apologies from wasting time on light reading that her cousin will criticize her for doing before going on to discussing local schools run by the county. Parts of the description could easily have been written about schools 160 years later! I found it interesting to read of the structure, county certification, teaching requirements and teacher preparation available then.

first time the Novels of Sir Walter Scott are in my hands, butI read them after bed-time so they do not waste my time.I have anticipations of receiving a lecture on Light Readingfrom Cusin Lizzie! What are the possibilities? I shall shall answer it.I have said so much of my self that I will now stop, it canbe of little moment the tho you what I am about . ————- Then are some things however which you may like to knowof our schools, our pastimes (political) and so on. Of our schoolsI can say, that the support they derive from the State is seldomsufficient to defray al Expenses and in such case parents andpatrons are taxed. Something is being done to support the schoolsEntirely by the Public funds. Our Supervision is some what differentfrom yours. An officer called the Co. Superintendent is at the Sourceof management in the County. Each Town has a Superintendent andeach school Dist. thru Trustees and Cl. Town Supt’s give Certificatesof qualification as also does the Co. Supt. Any Teacher who is thoughtfully competent to teach any Common School, receives sometimeswhat is called a Co. Certificate which licenses this teacher to teachany common school in the county without being again inspected‘till the certificate is annulled according to Law, which happens onlyin cases of misbehavior or non-compentency. Our State supportsour paper called Dist. School Journal and the Association of Teacherssupports another called The Teacher’s Advocate in Syracuse. I willsend you one. —— I suppose we have some excellent schools. —An institution termed the State Normal School is in Sessionat Albany. It is supported by the state partly and is devotedto the Education of Teachers. 10 shillings a week to Ladiesand 8 to Gentlemen are allowed towards board and alltravelling expenses paid. Then they go thru a course of Studies.Dear Coz, how I have pestered you with details ——————-You have thrown down the Political gauntlet and I sup-pose I must take it up or be called any thing butcoeur de lion. Perhaps we ought for mere Patriotism’s sake to

For the rest of the letter, Louise then gets into the serious discussion of what every woman should be concerned about: slavery! She sees the political discussions of the day, such as free trade or tariff, insignificant to the real problem folks should be discussing and acting upon.

make war upon each other that the worlds may have this benefit of the sparks of light shrink off in the conflict.Perhaps I can give a few reasons for being an abolitionist besidesthe weighty - one that my father is. I must first put the bridle on my pen that my prose do not degenerate to poetry—The questions of National Policy so woven with what ought toconcern every woman, I profess to know little about. But there is enough I cannot help knowing which throws all these “PartyHobbies” into the shade. Of Free Trade or a Tariff, a bank or Sub-TreasuryI know not the choice; but there is to me something in the“institution” of Slavery that conquers my indifference to Politicsand makes me a certain Kind of Politician. My views being generalare probably correct in the main, as nearly all acknowledge. Alladmit the inconsistency of a Free County’s cherishing Slavery.I doubt not Cousin you will do so. In the next place whichis the most important to us, as a nation, a sound heart and body free from disease with coarse of one, or a system abusedand disorganized, with perhaps a degree of soundness of brainwhich only renders the realization of suffering more acute == I haveused myself to look upon Slavery with the almost abhorrence and to … you how I would act would inform you howI would have the Nation act. I will as I best may, do all I canto pull down this Institution of Crime and Abuse, and wen I favored(I should not consider it a favor in any other case) with the right ofsuffage I should consider myself trifling with a sacred trust ifI did not use it in behalf of the oppressed. Some ask, “how areyou going to effect your object?” I answer, not my standing idly byand excusing myself. We have all duties to do; Political duties as wellas social and religious ones. …. …. note is merelythe creature of his own will and consider himself absolved from allresponsibility in its use, but give him as more enlightenment under-standing and quicken his sympathies and this folly ceases. ——-

She declares herself as an abolitionist.

I will not say more. You may understand me to be thoroughlyantislavery and Pro- abolitionist. I believe in action exertion for thiscommon weal of the people and the Slave. As, my dear cousinbut look this horrid monster in the face for a moment.What on the little questions of Terrifs and bank which can resultonly in the gratification of a party feeling (in my eyes) comparedwith that existing evil which is but this very Sum of villainy?Which degraded our notion in the eyes of those very notorious in affect to despise and which rendered our boasted Landof The Free” also the prison of the slave. I confess I can keepno terms talking on this subject. To rid our country ofthe disgrace and sin of Slavery is a work which liesbefore the people and it ought to be accomplished. Thenwhen the sun shines on all God’s children in this landas common recipients of his blessings, let the smaller Q’sof national economy be arranged. How absurd to devoteall the energies of the Physician to curing a scratch whilethe diseased and dying body demand his restoring powers.

[addressed part of letter when folded]

Do forgive me for troubling you with so much nonsense badlywritten. Tis provoking when written well. Answer me immedi-atibly and I provide you you shall complain no more of mynegligence as a correspondent. Yours affectionately L.P. R.

Twenty-one year old Louisa/Louise Pauline Radford (1825-1894) wrote this letter to her cousins, sisters Harriet Augusta (1821-1897)) and Hannah Elizabeth Radford (1825-1915). Her cousin, Elizabeth Radford, is my great great grandmother [Elizabeth Radford Evans]. I do not know about Elizabeth's paternal grandparents-- possibly, they are grandparents for Louise too.

Elizabeth's parents were Beers Radford (1784-1876) and Harriet Higgins (1785-1846) and a census and family tree search finds Louisa was the daughter of David Radford (1790-1885) and Cornelia White (1792-1870).

There are online trees with descendants of David Radford, but no parents. All of the census sources say that David Radford was born in Connecticut, as was Beers and his children. David's children were born in Madison County NY

I have one more letter from Louisa that Elizabeth saved, that will be another blog post.

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About Erica

Welcome to my blog on my adventures as I try to figure out my family's history. Over the years I've had some amazing adventures and met some wonderful people along the way. I keep looking for the stories behind the people (along with those names and dates) and I keep trying to find those women who weren't well documented in the past. I hope you'll enjoy what I post and if you want to contact me, send a note voolich@gmail.com.